So let me tell you about my slot car journey. My dad and my uncle started last year around May, I went with to watch every week but didn’t ride, just watched and marshaled most of the time but I was always watching and learning. The first time that I raced properly was in PE in an endurance race which our team came 3rd out of 6 teams. After that we started to race more and more slowly building up cars and parts and tools. This was our first full season of racing and I must say that we have come a long way since last year. I am leading most of the classes in class B and am lying 4th overall with my dad lying not too far behind. We have had our ups and downs but we kept going and trying to do better. This has been a successful season I would say and next year I’m sure we will do even better.
I have learnt a few things this year and last. If your car is going well don’t change anything, if your car is going average, don’t wait to change it or you will end up being behind in the championship. When changing things on your car don’t change too many things at once or you will end up not knowing what was wrong in the first place. Always inspect your car before racing to see if anything might be wrong. For example I had a car that was lightning quick and it handled really well until one day it didn’t handle. At first I left it and thought it was my driving. The problem persisted until I inspected the car, made a few modifications and still the same problem. Later I discovered that the guide was broken. Now I check absolutely everything just in case. Another thing I learned was to always learn from everything, good and bad. The broken guide for example, I will now always check the guide just in case. With regards to your car going well and not changing it, really stick to that. When you are going well you always feel that you can do better and start fiddling with your car, most times you end up making it worse. I learnt this the hard way a few times but trust me I have learnt my lesson.
With regards to racing I have learnt the most. Tips and tricks from the top guys in the club have really helped me to improve as a driver. I still have a lot to learn but I have come a long way. One of the most important things to remember is that you are riding your own race. Try not to get involved with other drivers, even though they might be in the same race as you. Don’t get involved in accidents, if a driver is faster than you, let them go and if you are faster wait for a gap and go past. Crashing will cost you time and could damage your car. Consistency is key to being successful, you can be the fastest driver in the club but if you come off every second lap you’re not going to get anywhere. Now I’m not saying being slow and not coming off will win you races. You have to find the balance between being fast and staying on.
The most important thing that I have learnt is you have to always be looking and listening to the top guys in your club. Every little thing could be important some day and you need to keep on learning all the time to develop both your cars and your driving ability.
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